1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the flush mechanisms used in toilets. More specifically, the present invention relates to flush mechanisms that can be used to selectively create a short flush cycle for liquid waste and a long flush cycle for solid waste, thereby conserving water.
2. Prior Art Description
The primary cause of domestic water use is the operation of the toilet. Due to the frequency and scale of recent water shortages, considerable interest has been focused upon limiting the amount of water a toilet uses.
Over the years, many devices for reducing the flush volume of a toilet have been invented. The simplest such method is to place water displacing objects into the toilet tank. However, in many cases, this approach is problematic due to the limited space available in the toilet tank and the interference created with the arrangements of the tank hardware. Another approach to saving water is to provide the toilet with two flush cycles. A long flush cycle is used to remove solid wastes and a short flush cycle is used to remove liquid wastes. Such prior art is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,109 to Street et al., entitled FLUSH VALUE ASSEMBLY; U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,279 to Harney, entitled DUAL FLUSH MECHANISM; U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,092 to Jones, entitled DUAL-FLUSH, TANK ACTUATING DEVICE; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,024 to Troeh, entitled VARIABLE FLUSH WATER CLOSET.
However, there are several disadvantages to such prior art variable flush mechanisms. Many prior art devices are structurally unreliable and cannot be used in a domestic setting. Other prior art devices only fit limited tank configurations, while others require specialized overflow stack and valve seat assemblies. The most common disadvantage embodied by prior art devices is that they do not encourage the use of the short flush cycle, have no adjustments or have only short flush cycle adjustments. Similarly, many such prior art devices are difficult to install or too costly for general use.
The need therefore exists in the art for a toilet flush device that provides an inducement to use the short flush cycle, easy to install and is cost effective.
The need also exists for a toilet flush device that has easily adjusted long flush and short flush cycles so the device can be adjusted to the needs of the user.